Push device and method for installing a push device

ABSTRACT

A pushing device for furniture or household appliances includes a first pull-out guide and a second pull-out guide, wherein each of the two pull-out guides comprises a stationary guide rail and at least one running rail which is movable relative to the guide rail and a front holder and a rear holder being fixed to each running rail, a base resting on all four holders and being secured against displacement by stops on the holders. A method for assembling a pushing device includes mounting the holders on the running rails and placing a base on each of the holders.

The present invention relates to a pushing device for furniture orhousehold appliances, with a first pull-out guide and a second pull-outguide, wherein each of the two pull=out guides comprises a stationaryguide rail and at least one running rail movable relative to the guiderail, and a front holder and a rear holder is fixed to each runningrail, and a method for assembling a pushing device.

AT 11 720 U2 discloses a drawer with an adapter for establishing asnap-in connection between a pull-out guide and a drawer. Thisfacilitates the assembly of the drawer on the movable rail of thepull-out guide. The drawer forms a preassembled unit with base, rearpanel, front panel and side panels, which are fixed to each other byfastening means. The fasteners are adapted to the geometry of theindividual elements of the drawer, and the production of such a draweris therefore complex and requires a large number of components that areadapted to the respective drawer.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a pushingdevice for furniture or household appliances which is simple in designand easy to assemble. This object is achieved with a pushing devicehaving the features of claim 1 and a method having the features of claim13.

In the pushing device according to the invention, holders are fixed totwo pull-out guides, namely one front holder and one rear holder. Thepushing device comprises a base that rests on all four holders and issecured against displacement by stops on the holders. Because of this,the base can be mounted easily by placing it loosely on the fourholders. Further fastening means for a force-locking fixation are notnecessary, so that the base can be placed on the four holders aftermounting the pull-out guides. For example, the base can be made of wood,plastic, glass or other materials. The bottom can also be formed as agrate or grid.

Preferably, each holder angularly surrounds a corner of the bottom atthe edge. In this way, the floor can be secured against displacement ateach corner by one of the holders, whereby the upwardly projectingangular walls on each holder can be arranged with clearance to the edgeof the floor in order to compensate for tolerances. In the area of thecorner, each holder can optionally be rounded. Further protectionagainst displacement can be provided by the fact that the support oneach holder for the floor is made of an elastic or rubberised material.

In a preferred embodiment, a groove-shaped receptacle is formed on eachholder for inserting a lower end section of a side wall. This allows thetwo side panels to be easily assembled by inserting them into agroove-shaped receptacle on the front holder and into a groove-shapedreceptacle on the rear holder. Furthermore, each holder may have afurther groove-shaped receptacle, preferably aligned at right anglesthereto, for insertion of a lower end portion of a rear wall or a frontpanel. This allows fixing to each holder by inserting plate-shaped wallelements, such as a side wall, a rear wall and/or a front panel. Thedepth of the groove-shaped receptacles can be the same or different, forexample, a deeper groove-shaped receptacle can be formed for the sidewalls, which extends at least partially adjacent to the running rail.

For an effective manufacture, the holders can be manufactured as mouldedparts made of plastic so that they can be easily mounted on the movabletrack and then form a support for the base. To fix a holder, a plug canbe provided which is inserted into a hollow chamber on the running rail.The plug can be positively or non-positively fixed to the rail.Alternatively or additionally, a hook can protrude from each track tofix one of the holders. The holder can then be placed on the hook inorder to be fixed in a clamping or form-fitting manner.

In a preferred embodiment, the pushing device comprises two side walls,a rear wall and a front panel, which surround the floor in a frame-likemanner. A rear end of a side wall and an end of a rear wall can be fixedto each rear holder, while an end of a front panel and a front end ofthe side wall are fixed to each front holder. The side walls, the rearwall and/or the front panel can be made of a plate-shaped material.Various materials are conceivable, such as transparent ornon-transparent plastic, glass, wood or composite materials, but alsobent aluminium or steel sheet. Different materials or colours can alsobe combined in a pushing element. It is also easy to equip the drawerunit with light, for example an LED strip, lettering or decorations. Inthis way, a very individual push element can be realised. A box-shapeddrawer element with transparent surface elements is particularlysuitable for household appliances, such as refrigerators, as thecontents of the drawer can then be viewed from the outside. Anarrangement of corresponding drawer elements in a piece of furniture,also behind a pull-out with a high front panel, as an internal drawer orbehind hinged doors can also be a preferred application.

In order to increase stability when forming a drawer, the side walls canbe connected to the front panel by means of an upper corner elementwhich is pushed on from above so that an upper end of the side wall andan upper end of the front panel are held in an angular groove-shapedreceptacle of the corner element. Similarly, a corner element can alsobe fixed in the rear area between the rear panel and a side panel byplugging it on, which fixes the position of the rear panel to the sidepanel. This upper corner element can further have a surface elementextending to the lower holder, which preferably covers the gap betweenthe front and the side wall, or the rear and side wall.

In a further embodiment of the pushing device, a projection is formed onthe front or rear holder, which can be brought into engagement with amovable driver of, for example, a self-closing device or a damper or anejector or a combination thereof. Thus, in addition to forming a supportfor the floor and a possible support for a side wall, a rear wall and/ora front panel, a holder can also be used to couple the movable runningrail with a stationary self-closing device or damper or, for example, tobias or decelerate or lock the movable running rail in the closingdirection shortly before reaching the closed position.

In a method of assembling a pushing device according to the invention, afront holder is first mounted on a front end of a movable track of afirst pull-out guide and a rear holder is mounted on the rear end of thetrack of the first pull-out guide. Further, a front holder and a rearholder are mounted to the movable track of a second drawer runner. Thetwo pull-out guides are then fixed to a body of a piece of furniture orhousehold appliance, and then a base is placed on the four holders atthe mounted pull-out guides. The base is then supported on the fourholders and can be covered with objects.

To form a drawer, a side panel can then be inserted into an upwardlyopen, groove-shaped receptacle on each holder, and in addition a rearwall or a front panel can be inserted into a further upwardly openreceptacle. This frame-shaped structure with the front panel, the twoside panels and the rear wall can then be secured by corner elements,each of which is fitted in a corner area from above onto a side wall anda rear wall or front panel. This allows a drawer to be made with only afew components.

In a preferred embodiment, the two runners can be locked in an extendedposition to allow simplified assembly of the base, side walls, front andrear walls.

The invention is explained in more detail below by means of severalembodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. They show:

FIG. 1 A perspective view of a household appliance with pushers;

FIGS. 2A to 2D Several views during the assembly of a thrust deviceaccording to the invention;

FIG. 3 A perspective view of an extension guide for a thrust device;

FIG. 4 A view of the mounting of a holder on the pull-out guide of FIG.3 ;

FIGS. 5A and 5B Two detailed views of a pull-out guide in the area ofthe rear holder;

FIGS. 6A to 6C Several detailed views of a pull-out guide in the area ofa front holder;

FIG. 7A sectional view through a holder with a side wall;

FIG. 8A perspective view of a modified thruster;

FIGS. 9A and 9B Two views of a holder of the pusher of FIG. 8 , and

FIG. 10A perspective view of a piece of furniture with pushers.

A household appliance 1, in particular a refrigerator, comprises a body2 on which a door 3 is pivotably mounted. A plurality of pushing devices4 are arranged in an interior space of the body 2, which can be pulledout from a position inside the body 2 into a projecting position.

The pushing device 4 is shown in detail in FIGS. 2A to 2D. Each pushingdevice 4 comprises two pull-out guides 5, which have a stationary guiderail 6 that can be fixed to the body 2 via elbows 8. A movable runningrail 7 is held on the stationary guide rail 6, which can be movedcompletely or partially in front of the body 2.

A front holder 9 and a rear holder 10 are fixed to each movable runningrail 7 of the two pull-out guides 5.

The pushing device 4 further comprises a base 11, two side walls 12, afront panel 13 and a rear wall 14, which are designed in the shape of aplate and consist for example of a transparent material, in particularplastic. It is also possible to make only the front panel 13transparent, so that when the door 3 is opened the contents of thedrawer 4 are visible. Other materials such as glass, wood or compositematerials for the front panel 13, rear wall 14 or side walls 12 are alsoconceivable, whereby different materials can also be combined in adrawer.

For the assembly of the pushing device 4, the ends of a side panel 12 ona rear holder 10 and a front holder 9 are inserted into a receptacleopen towards the top. Furthermore, the two front holders 9 are connectedto each other via the front panel 13 and the two rear holders 10 via therear wall 14, preferably by inserting the front panel 13 and the rearwall 14 from above (see FIG. 2B). Furthermore, the base 11 is placed onthe two front holders 9 and the two rear holders 10 on a support so thatthe position shown in FIG. 2C is obtained. In this position, the pushingdevice 4 comprises a box-shaped receptacle and objects can be placed onthe base 11. In order to increase the stability of the side walls 12,the front panel 13 and the rear wall 14, additional corner elements 15can be fitted, which are angular in shape and are each fitted from aboveonto a corner area between the side walls 12 and the rear wall 14 or theside panels and the front panel 13. The drawer formed in this way can bemade with few components and assembly steps. The height and material ofthe side walls 12, the rear wall 14 and the front panel 13 can beselected flexibly.

FIG. 3 shows one of the two pull-out guides 5 with the front holder 9and the rear holder 10. The other pull-out guide 5 is a mirror image andis fixed to the opposite side wall of the body 2.

The pull-out guide 5 comprises the stationary guide rail 6, the movablerunning rail 7 and a pull-out-extending middle rail 60 disposed betweenthe guide rail 6 and the running rail 7. The front holder 9 and the rearholder 10 each form a support 16 formed by a ribbed structure, a plateor other shape for supporting a corner portion of the base 11. A surfaceof the support 16 may also be rubberised or provided with a resilientmaterial to make it difficult for the base 11 to move.

The rear holder 10 comprises a groove-shaped receptacle 17 which extendsin the longitudinal direction parallel to the running rail 7 and servesto receive a lower, rear end of a side wall 12. Another groove-shapedreceptacle 18 is arranged at an angle to this and is used for insertingone end of a rear wall 14. The depths of the groove-shaped receptacles17 and 18 can be different, in particular the groove-shaped receptacle17 for the side wall 12 can be designed deeper than the groove-shapedreceptacle 18 for receiving the rear wall 14. The respective outergroove walls on the groove-shaped receptacle 17 and the groove-shapedreceptacle 18 are designed higher than the shelf 16 and can thus limitpivoting of the side wall 12 and the rear wall 14 and optionally alsolimit displacement of the base 11 in the horizontal direction if theholders 9 and 10 are mounted without side walls 12, front panel 13 andrear wall 14.

The front holder 9 comprises a groove-shaped receptacle 19 extendingsubstantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the runningrail 7 for inserting an end of the front panel 13. A furthergroove-shaped receptacle 17 is also formed on the front holder 9 forinserting a front end of the side wall 12.

A self-closing device 20 is also provided on the pull-out guide 5 in thearea of the front holder 9, which comprises a housing 21 fixed to theguide rail 6, on which a movable driver 22 can be moved along a guiderail. The driver 22 is biased into a closed position via a spring andoptionally also a damper within a cartridge 23. The driver 22 is therebyengaged in a closing area in front of the closing position with aprojection 24, which is integrally formed with the holder 9, but canalso be fixed thereto by fastening means. When the running rail 7 ismoved in the opening direction, the driver 22 is moved along the guidetrack until it swivels and thus releases the projection 24, so that therunning rail 7 can be moved independently of the self-closing device 20.

FIG. 4 shows the rear holder 10 in a dismantled position. It can be seenthat a hook 70 protruding upwards is formed on the running rail 7, whichserves to fix the rear holder 10.

FIGS. 5A and 5B show the rear holder 10 in detail. The upwardlyprojecting hook 70 engages over a web 71 of the rear holder 10 so thatthe latter is clamped or positively fixed between an upper side of thetrack 7 and the hook 70. The hook 70 is also received between two webs72 which limit lateral movement of the holder 10 perpendicular to thelongitudinal direction of the running rail 7. This allows the holder 10to be slid onto the hook 70 on the track 7 in a rearward direction.

FIGS. 6A to 6C show the front holder 9 and its assembly. The frontholder 9 is fixed at a front end to the running rail 7 and comprises aplug 30 which is inserted into a hollow chamber of the running rail 7.The plug 30 can be fixed in a clamping or form-fitting manner via a web31 in order to make it more difficult to dismantle the holder 9.Optionally, the front holder 9 can be additionally fixed to the runningrail 7 via a screw 32.

In FIG. 6C the projection 24 is shown with an angled bar-shapedactivator 25 which engages in a receptacle on the driver 22 and is thusmovable together with the latter: the driver 22 is movable along a guidetrack 26 on the housing 21 of the self-closing device 20.

FIG. 7 shows a section through a side wall 12 which is fixed to agroove-shaped receptacle 17. The width of the groove-shaped receptacle17 can be approximately the same as the thickness of the side wall 12.Optionally, it is also possible to insert an elastic element 40 into thegroove-shaped receptacle 17, which surrounds a lower edge of the sidewall 12 in a U-shape. This allows the side wall 12 to be clamped in thegroove-shaped receptacle 17.

FIG. 8 shows a modified pushing device in which two pull-out guides 5are provided, which are designed essentially as in the previousembodiment and to which a front holder 9′ and a rear holder 10′ arerespectively fixed to the movable running rail 7. The pushing devicecomprises a modified base 11′ which is not plate-shaped, but is formedas a grid, for example for inserting wine bottles or for storing otherobjects. This modified base 11′ rests in the corner area on one of theholders 9′ and 10′ respectively and is secured against horizontaldisplacement by the holders 9′ and 10′.

FIGS. 9A and 9B show a front holder 9′, whereby the rear holder 10′ canoptionally be of identical design. The front holder 9′ comprises agroove-shaped receptacle 19 for fixing a front panel and a furthergroove-shaped receptacle 17 aligned at an angle thereto for inserting aside wall 12. Furthermore, a horizontal support 16′ is provided on theholder 9′ for supporting a corner region of the base 11′. The support16′ is arranged slightly lower, so that the walls of the groove-shapedreceptacles 17 and 19 are arranged higher than the support 16′ and thuslimit a displacement of the base 11′ in the horizontal plane. The frontholder 9′ further comprises a downwardly projecting fastening part 50 onwhich fastening means 51 are mounted to fix the holder 9′ to the runningrail 7.

In the embodiment example shown, the holders 9, 9′, 10, 10′ aremanufactured as moulded parts made of plastic, which can optionally alsocomprise two different plastic materials. The attachment of the holders9, 9′, 10, 10′ to the movable running rail 7 can be varied. For example,the front holder 9 can also be fixed to the running rail 7 by means of ahook 70 or the rear holder 10 is mounted by means of a plug which isinserted into a hollow chamber of the running rail 7. In addition, thedesign of the bottom 11 and 11′ can be varied depending on which objectsare to be stored on the push device 4.

The supports 16 and 16′ on the holders 9, 9′, 10, 10′ can be arrangedabove the upper side of the running rail 7 as well as on an inner sideof the running rail 7 and below the upper side.

FIG. 10 shows an example of a piece of furniture 100 or householdappliance with a body 200 and a drawer 300 with a high front panel 301.Above the drawer 300, several pushing devices 4 according to theinvention are mounted, which are designed, for example, as internaldrawers.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

-   -   1 Household appliance    -   2 Body    -   3 Door    -   4 Pushing device    -   5 Pull-out guide    -   6 Guide rail    -   7 Running rail    -   8 Elbow    -   9, 9′ Holder    -   10′ Holder    -   11, 11′ Base    -   12 Side wall    -   13 Front panel    -   14 Rear wall    -   15 Corner element    -   16, 16′ Shelf    -   17 Receptable    -   18 Receptable    -   19 Receptable    -   20 Self closing device    -   21 Housing    -   22 Driver    -   23 Cartridge    -   24 Projection    -   25 Activator    -   26 Guide track    -   30 Plugs    -   31 Web    -   32 Screw    -   40 Elastic element    -   50 Fixing part    -   51 Fixing means    -   60 Middle rail    -   70 Hook    -   71 Web    -   72 Web    -   100 Furniture    -   200 Body    -   300 Drawer    -   301 Front panel

1. A pushing device (4) for furniture (100) or household appliances (1),comprising a first pull-out guide (5) and a second pull-out guide (5),wherein each of the first and second pull-out guides (5) comprises astationary guide rail (6) and at least one running rail (7) which isconfigured to be moved relative to the guide rail (6), and a frontholder (9, 9′) and a rear holder (10, 10′) being fixed to each runningrail (7), wherein a base (11, 11′) rests on all of the front and rearholders (9, 9′, 10, 10′) and is secured against displacement by stops onthe holders (9, 9′, 10, 10′).
 2. The pushing device according to claim1, wherein each holder (9, 9′, 10, 10′) surrounds a corner of the base(11, 11′) at an edge in an angular manner.
 3. The pushing deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein a groove-shaped receptacle (17) is formedon each holder (9, 9′, 10, 10′) for the insertion of a lower end portionof a side wall (12).
 4. The pushing device according to claim 1, whereina groove-shaped receptacle (18, 19) is provided on each holder (9, 9′,10, 10′) and is configured for the insertion of a lower end portion of arear wall (14) or a front panel (13).
 5. The pushing device according toclaim 1, wherein the holders (9, 9′, 10, 10′) are produced as mouldedparts from plastic.
 6. The pushing device according to claim 1, whereineach front and/or rear holder (9, 9′, 10, 10′) comprises a plug (30)inserted into a hollow chamber on the running rail (7).
 7. The pushingdevice according to claim 1, wherein a hook (70) projects from eachrunning rail (7), to which one of the front and/or rear holders (9, 9′,10, 10′) is fixed.
 8. The pushing device according to claim 1, wherein arear end of a side wall (12) and an end portion of a rear wall (14) arefixed to each rear holder (10, 10′) and/or a front end of a side wall(12) and an end of a front panel (13) are fixed to each front holder (9,9′).
 9. The pushing device according to claim 8, wherein the side walls(12), the rear wall (14) and/or the front panel (13) are made of atransparent plate-shaped material.
 10. The pushing device according toclaim 8, wherein each side wall (12) is connected to a front panel (13)via a corner element (15) which is fitted from above.
 11. The pushingdevice according to claim 8, wherein each side wall (12) is connected toa rear wall (14) via a corner element (15) fitted from above.
 12. Thepushing device according to claim 1, wherein a projection (24) is formedon one of the front or rear holders (9, 9′, 10, 10′), which projectionis configured to be brought into engagement with a movable driver (22)of a self-closing device (20).
 13. A method of assembling a pushingdevice (4) comprising the following steps: a) Mounting of a front holder(9, 9′) on a front end of a movable runner (7) of a first pull-out guide(5); b) Mounting of a rear holder (10, 10′) on a rear end of a movablerunner (7) of the first pull-out guide (5); c) Repeating steps a) and b)for a second pull-out guide (5); d) Mounting the two pull-out guides (5)on a carcass (2) of a piece of furniture or a household appliance (1),and e) Placing a base (11, 11′) on the four holders (9, 9′, 10, 10′).14. The method according to claim 13, wherein on each holder (9, 10) aside wall (12) is inserted into an upwardly open groove-shapedreceptacle (17) and on each rear holder (10) a rear wall (14) and oneach front holder (9) a front panel (13) is inserted into an upwardlyopen groove-shaped receptacle (18, 19).
 15. The method according toclaim 14, wherein a corner element (15) is plugged onto each corner of aunit formed by side walls (12), the rear wall (14) and the front panel(13).